Chicago renters are big spenders on shelter

September 15, 2009

More than half of Chicagoans are renters, and they are spending a larger portion of their income to keep a roof over their heads, according to a report released today.

Even though the number of rental units declined almost 10 percentage points as a portion of the city's housing stock from 1990 to 2007, the last year for which data are available, there are 1.3 million renters in the Windy City, according to the Metropolitan Tenants Organization. Based on the study "The State of Renters in the City of Chicago," the group is advocating for changes in national housing policy that focus on affordable and stable housing for renters.

In Chicago, rent increased roughly 15 percent from 2000 to 2007, outpacing inflation, while incomes stagnated, the study found. That means renters are spending more of their paycheck on rent. The median rent in Chicago in 2007 was $832 a month.

In 2007, 53 percent of Chicagoans were "rent-burdened," spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent, according to the study. The percentage of renters who paid 50 percent or more of their income for rent grew from 21 percent to nearly 30 percent of renter households from 2000 to 2007.

Rental income generated nearly $450 million in Chicago in 2007.

"There is a pervasive attitude that validates homeownership and marginalizes renting," said Ann Barnds, one of the study's authors. "Renters are not recognized as making a positive contribution to a city. But you can't have vibrant and stable neighborhoods without them."

The study does not reflect many of the dramatic changes in the housing market in the last 18 months, since the financial crisis hit. But it did find that renters were moving to the periphery of the city.

The number of rentals has grown in neighborhoods traditionally occupied by homeowners, including the Northwest Side.